Category: Prose

3 movies – 3 languages – Netflix

January 29th, 2023
We are in times were entertainment is immediately accessible. The OTT platforms is a boon for someone like me who love to tell stories as much as to listen to it or watch it. What better medium is available for story telling than the cinema?

As Pathan rides high in the theatres, I caught up with three films in three days, a romedy called 18 pages in Telugu, Action Hero in Hindi and Kaappa in Malayalam.

While Kaappa seemed to be a rehash of similar themes and stood out only for the slow menace in Prithviraj’s movements, and 18 pages touched a tender cord of love and longing, I was thrilled by Ayushman Khurana’s Action Hero.

Catch them now on Netflix.
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I used to be famous – a review

January 26th, 2023
It is been sometime since I watched a movie, a good one, and this was it streaming on Netflix. It is a story about a beautiful bonding between two unlikely men and how it turns their life around. You can’t watch it without being teary eyed.

No dream is too big!!!
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Life as a river – Morning Meditations

January 17th, 2023
Have you ever thought of life as a river? A stream of continuous emotions, thoughts, actions and experiences, a mixed bag, an ever changing eco system.
Have you ever thought of life as a river that is fed by multiple inlets of streams, small rivulets that replenish it from hills and plains of varied experiences alike?
Have you ever thought of life as river that needs multiple sources of joy, of love, of appreciation, of expression so that the life energies are well expended?
As a river that is in a state of flux, life demands that we explore multiple areas of self expression, that are creative, challenging and therefore, satisfying.
As you and I explore, new forms of art, new areas to travel to, new problems to work on, new ways to contribute to the society, life looks more interesting.
Let’s then have multiple rivulets of joy, love, appreciation, expression in our life, so that we don’t burden those in our immediate surroundings with our need for validation.
Let’s replenish our river of life and may new experiences of joy and abundance visit us more frequently!
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#Daily prompt 10

January 14th, 2023
What snack would you eat right now?

A chocolate bun, the thick bun parting to reveal rich chocolate base, not too sweet, nor sour either, just the right amount of yumminess that makes it a soul Saturday.

Sometimes food can evoke deeper emotions, and there are times when you literally fawn over the food on the table, that you go making sounds, a friend, the other day, rolled her eyes at my noisy appreciation of deliciousness but I was just taking advantage of it being just the two of us in the room!

I would like to go and sit at eateries and watch the people around there, making conversations, trying to make connections… that would be nice.
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Cut the clutter – Start afresh

January 13th, 2023
Very often, you and I are overwhelmed by the day to day happenings in our lives, at home, at office, in our friends circle, among relatives and so often, it weighs us down.

The meaningless clutter, the chatter of the mind, the noise in the head that seems to over rule anything that is productive in our lives.

An individual who is rude and insensitive, a system that is unfair, a person who doesn’t acknowledge you or value your contributions, a lover who walked away, a child who is cranky, a spouse who is impossible, others who are getting more than their due and so on and so forth.

How difficult it is to be normal, straight faced and focused in such times, how much one struggles to put the smile back on one’s face. ..

Truly, it is a challenge.

That is when it becomes all the more important to think of a greater goal, a travel you want to go on, a person who you want to help, a business you want to set up, a research you want to embark on, a soul mate you are in search of, an experience you can’t wait to have, and the moment you think of a greater goal, the small noises of the day to day life suddenly lose its significance.

The mind now realizes that everything else is mindless chatter and like an athlete you would focus on the goal again, that which you really want to achieve, that which is greater than the daily humdrum of your life.

So, go on peg your mind, heart and soul to long term visions for yourself, allow the small inadequacies to fade away, re focus, re group, re align as many times as you want and with the singular focus of an athlete’s mind, hit back at the larger goal.

The clutter is lesser, the mind is clearer, coz there are bigger, better things to do for you and for me…

So dream, visualize, achieve your goals, personal and professional!

Good luck!

Have a super duper day!!!

cut the clutter
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#Daily prompt 10

January 12th, 2023
Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?

There was a time in my childhood when I felt that we were rich and that was when my father was successful as a manager and when we had a basket full of toys at a time, a when I was six years old and my brother a little one year old kid.

Life at that time, did seem good though we did not have many material goods. When in 2 years time, tide changed and we had to relocate to my grand father’s home, I was attached to a red pinochio clapping doll. It did hurt me when our furniture, our play items which we had to leave at our relative’s place were used by others, kids though they were… as I see it now.

Another gift my father always gave me was books, which at that time cost very less and he always obliged my request for books.

Later times changed and the insecurity that came with father’s uncertain job situation, made my parents, extremely cautious, we never spent anything again on frivolities like toys or books. Though already meek and very polite, my brother and I never dared ask for anything to my parents ever after.

My father regained confidence in his financial status only when I had spent almost two decades on the planet, amma smiled more easily and achan took to the habit of bringing snacks everyday on his way back home.

Even to this day, years after retirement my parents shudder at the pain this injustice caused to both of them, the shame and guilt they carried for no fault of theirs.

It is in this exuberance of newly found confidence that they went ahead and fixed my marriage in an jiffy. Two events followed in quick succession, my brother was diagnosed with a painful disease and I lost what ever confidence I had in front of my overbearing in laws and husband. My parents, after years of struggle to bring us up now engaged in caring for a very sick young man at home, with a warrior spirit to keep the smile alive on his face.

Strange are the ways of life, stranger are the ways it chooses to test….that is life, a mixed bag at any given time! Love it or hate it, you are in the game of life as long as you breathe. So it makes sense to choose love. Period.
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Just positive – Switch words

January 12th, 2023
I learnt about switch words recently. Immediately, I shared it with my daughter and my friends, I said, use it, you should do it.

The frenzy lasted for a few days, but when it lasted there was more talk, some new thoughts and it was fun. The technique I hear is to repeat the switch word as many times as you please, something like a positive affirmation or the mantras we chant here in India.

I think the mind gets into an auto suggestion mode when it hears positive words on repeat and it sort of makes it happen.

Let me share what I learnt with you

DIVINE – is a switch word to use if you want to have miracles in life, who doesn’t !!!

REACH-HEALTHY-BE – is switch word to use for health

FIND-COUNT -DIVINE – is a switch word for wealth and prosperity

DO – is switch word to beat procrastination, like the Nike tag line, just do it

WOLF-MAGIC-BEGIN-NOW – is a switch word for quick solution

GIVE- is a switch word to sell anything

TOGETHER-DIVINE is a switch word for business growth

GOLDEN SUNRISE – is a switch word to use for any problem in life

TOGETHER DIVINE LOVE – is the switch word for love and relationship

There it goes, switch to positivity, use switch words!!!

Good luck, have a great day!!!
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#Daily prompt 9

January 6th, 2023
What is the greatest gift someone could give you?

Tough question!!!!

I would love to receive opportunities to grow as a writer. To be able to explore by travelling, meeting people, spend days after days just writing.

Such trust and faith in my creative abilities means the world to me.

Or maybe I just want to be gifted some love, some time, some care…..

I do respect the question though, because when my friend Anwar asked me, did you have a crush, Lekha, I was so surprised, I wondered why no one ever asked me such a question before.

Then I had another friend, Binu Peter who, though casually, asked me what do you look for in a partner, I loved it that he chose to ask me this question.

And my daughter who asks me, ‘what would you like to eat ma? where would you like to go? what color do you like?’

Or sometimes my students who ask,’ what do you want to do more mam?, what place would you like to visit? who is your favorite student? or why do you write?’

I realize why questions are important now and relish it when questions are asked because well! for one it rules out assumption, doesn’t it?
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Daily prompt #8

January 4th, 2023
Significance of being stupid

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

Word play, I do love words!!!

Ok, so I have a few secret games which makes me brighten up though it is true I might look an odd ball while at it!

But who cares??? I certainly don’t.
1. While walking back home after work, I look for reasonably healthy looking pebbles, I don’t find them everyday, some times I even forget my own game, but when I find them, I toss them and take the pebble the half a kilo metre way back home, tossing it with my feet and if it reaches the gate to my apartment, I pick it up and place it under a tree on the pavement park. I believe that this successful tossing of a pebble to this secret place of mine will bring me some good news. Believe me, it has worked so far!!!!
2. When I see a raised platform, I immediately get on to it and walk, if possible, I mean!)
3. When walking in corridors, or anywhere if there are blocks I try to step into a block only once, this looks a bit eccentric to onlookers, coz I am like what, 49!!!! but I love doing it and usually I don’t care if someone sees me.
4. I play scrabble
5. Hide and seek with my cat, Andrew
6. Hit and run to save from being hit with my daughter
7. Add the numbers of license plates while travelling or driving
8. Talk gibberish in suitable company
So, there came a time in my life, when I realized that my ever present smile had gone missing and looked strained at its best. I had lost the spontaneous giggles and sudden spurts of joy that were my best identification, I realized then that regaining that inner laughter was my priority, ever since, I have boldly, joyfully embraced these eccentricities to this day.

Well! before you laugh at me, did you know that there was a certain good looking mathematician by the name G. H. Hardy, whose first task upon entering a hotel room was to cover all the mirrors!!! I know this thanks to C P Snow’s interesting account, Variety of Men!
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The Thrill Of Writing

January 3rd, 2023
It was many years ago when as a 10 year kid, I secretly dreamed of becoming a writer. At Varandhiappilly, I found interesting books, texts prescribed for college, and devoured then enthusiastically cooped up in a corner some place. That of course, when I was probably playing hide and seek or not being told a story, which were my favourite past times apart from dreaming and loads and loads of sleeping.

I did manage to translate a small part or two of a big Malayalam compendium on great minds into English, which brought some attention to my writing but surely, it was not taken seriously by anyone, neither my parents nor me.

I continued fantasizing about my columns in the newspaper and books that were written by me being read around the world, a la Jane Austen or a Charlotte Brontee or more.

Then I am thrilled when someone tells me, ‘write that will you’, when a certain faith is placed in my writing, and I am in raptures, thrilled that someone could be kind enough to think of me as being capable of writing, yes, putting thoughts into words and words on to pages.

So, I write on my blog, on linkedin and now on instagram and on facebook and quora and more, as someone obsessed with the idea of being called a writer, and when they do, the joy is pure, so great is experienced as to bring tears to my eyes!!!

Small joys, great hopes, dreams and wishes, and the many challenges of being a writer…still worth it, any day, any where.
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Category: Prose

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